Rattigan mob may have set missing Philip up

GARDAI fear a man missing since earlier this month may have been murdered by two of his former associates who have recently been released from prison.

Philip Finnegan (24), from Mary Aikenhead House, Dublin 8, has not been seen since Wednesday, August 10, when he was spotted in Kildare with a pal.

It is believed his life was in danger after he refused to pay money to associates of jailed mob boss Brian Rattigan.

It is suspected Rattigan personally called Philip from a phone smuggled into Portlaoise Prison in the days before his disappearance.

VANISHED: Philip Finnegan

Gardaí have received information that people Philip was close to may have set him up to be murdered.

Two men recently released from prison who had been associates of Philip are suspected of abducting him on the day he disappeared.

Gardaí have received information that he may have been murdered and his body dumped in a wooded area in Leixlip, Co. Kildare.

Investigators are keeping an open mind on the disappearance, but the main line of inquiry is that he was killed.

It is understood gardaí from Leixlip are now involved in the investigation.

“Intelligence has been received that members of the Rattigan gang demanded he pay money they said he owed them, but he refused to pay. There are indications that people he knew set him up to be killed,” said a source.

There were reports that he and another man were attacked in Dublin shortly before he disappeared.

He previously escaped death when a gunman opened fire on Philip and Owen Gaffney in a drive-by shooting on Dublin’s Lower Basin Street in July 2013.

Owen Gaffney

Five shots were fired, but neither man was injured. They refused to co-operate with Gardaí, as did several witnesses.

In December that year Philip was caught up in a bloody brawl when two rival groups met by accident in McDonald’s on Grafton Street. Later that day a hatchet was thrown through the front window of his home at Mary Aikenhead House, but no complaint was made.

Last year he was acquitted of firearms possession after a semi-automatic handgun capable of firing blanks was found during a raid on his home.

He initially told gardaí the gun belonged to his brothers, but later told them to charge him.

He pleaded guilty and the charges were dropped when Judge Mary Ellen Ring ruled that Garda references to arresting his brother undermined the voluntary nature of his statement.

Philip is described as approximately 5’4” in height, with dark brown hair and blue eyes.

When last seen he was wearing a light grey Fila top with a full-length zip to the front, dark grey Adidas tracksuit bottoms with three white stripes down the legs and royal blue Adidas runners.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Kilmainham Garda Station on 01-666 9700, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.